Gold nanocrystal arrays as electrocatalysts for the oxidation of methanol and ethanol

Abstract

A general difficulty in the comparison of catalysts regarding their electrochemical activities is the significant dependency on the electrode preparation method. In addition to single-crystal, thin-film, and polycrystalline electrodes, most electrocatalysts contain a physical mixture of catalytically active nanocrystals (NCs), conductive carbon support, and binding agent. This type of preparation makes the agglomeration of NCs to larger entities inevitable and simultaneously decreases the catalytically active surface area. In this work, electocatalysts based on two-dimensional arrays of self-assembled monodisperse Au NCs with a particle size of 8 nm have been fabricated. Their electrocatalytic performance in the electrochemical oxidation reaction of methanol and ethanol was investigated for different pH values. The self-assembly of Au NCs into two-dimensional arrays enables to fabricate electrocatalysts with a high mass activity in alkaline electrolytes for alcohol oxidation reactions.